The disproportionate effect of transport availability on the poor in South Africa: a gender perspective
Date
2023-06
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
Abstract
Issues relating to the cost and accessibility of transportation for the poor in South Africa have been thoroughly studied; however, research on the unequal impact on women and men is deficient. Thus, this study's purpose is to explore if there are gender variations in transportation disadvantage and costs, and if so, to probe possible reasons. To compare gender differences in mode of transport and expenditure, the 2020 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) from Statistics South Africa is used. Households are classified into female-dominated ( all adults in households are female), male-dominated (all adults are male) and mixed households (both female and male adults present in households). This method is used as it helps to distinguish gender differences in the economic resources available to each household type (Posel & Hall, 2021). Descriptive statistics on mode of transport (private, public and walking) and transport cost as a share of budget by household type and purpose of transport (travel to place of employment and educational institution) are first provided. A multinomial regression is then used to investigate gender differences in mode of transport in a multivariate context and an Ordinary Least Squares Regression (OLS)
is used to explore gender differences in budget allocations to transport. The analysis finds that when household characteristics across household types are
not controlled for, no significant differences in mode of travel between female- and male-dominated households are evident. Once included, people in female-dominated households are significantly less likely than others to walk and more likely to use public transport. Moreover, female-dominated households spend more on school transportation than male-dominated households, as well as transport shares allocated to work travel
Description
A research report submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Economics( Applied Development Economics Masters Programme) to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, School of Economics and Finance, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023
Keywords
Female-dominated households, Gender equality, Transport, Transport cost, Multinomial regression, Average household income, Travel time, UCTD
Citation
Everts, Lee. (2023). The disproportionate effect of transport availability on the poor in South Africa: a gender perspective [Master’s dissertation, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg]. WirDSpace. https://hdl.handle.net/10539/38792